The invention relates to an ointment applicator particularly, but not exclusively, intended for the application of medicated ointment to parts of the body that are difficult or impossible to reach by one's own hand. For example, even a reasonably agile person has difficulty reaching all parts of his or her back, and arthritic and aged persons generally find it impossible to reach much of the back and often also the feet and lower parts of the legs. In these circumstances it is necessary either for someone else to apply the ointment to those parts which the person cannot reach, or for the person to use a long handled applicator to apply the ointment to the hard to reach places.
Various examples of such an applicator comprising a non-absorbent roller rotatably carried by and readily removable (for cleaning purposes) from an elongate carrier member at or near one end thereof are disclosed in GB-A-2046596. A person wishing to use the applicator to apply ointment (or any other preparation) topically to a part of the body which is out of normal reach simply spreads the ointment on the surface of the roller and then, holding the applicator by the handle end of the carrier member, guides the applicator so that the roller is caused to roll back and forth over the area of the body to which the ointment is to be applied.
One problem which many people have when applying ointment, whether using an applicator or not, is determining exactly how much should be applied. For example, the recommended dose for a single application to a particular area may be 1 gram, but when dispensing ointment from a tube it is difficult to gauge such an amount accurately. Accordingly, it is often the case that too much ointment is applied, which is wasteful, or too little, which may reduce the efficacy of the treatment.